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Chapter 21 - A Galactic Challenge (CitC)
Ludwig had described the Super Bowser Doomship as being quite massive and built very well. What he had not described was exactly how well the Super Bowser Doomship was built. Tubba had came to the hangar expecting a larger version of an airship. Instead, the Super Bowser Doomship most closely resembled the Koopa Cruiser. The entire top was a deck that could be used, and the silver hull was lined with rows and rows of windows. In between all of those windows were the bullet bill cannons Ludwig and Iggy had spoken of, sticking out of the ship, dark and menacing. "How'd they get a hangar large enough to fit it in here?" Tubba asked to no one in particular. Clubbette had entered the hangar with him, but she had walked off to examine the airship more closely. The whole airship was about ninety feet, with four floors. There was a fifth, storage compartment in the belly of the airship. The whole hangar was full of workers, like ants scurrying in a nest. Koopatrols were loading storage and food into the fifth deck, Koopas and Paratroopas were climbing up a ramp into the top decks. Atop it all, on a raised platform, it appeared that Bowser was marshalling the troops. ''It can't be... we left Bowser back in the throne room! ''This Bowser had completely intact scales, and his orange hair was free from gray. "Oy, you there! Keep that crate steady!" The Bowser doppelganger shouted at a Koopatrol that nearly tipped his crate. "That's got loads of Star Bits in them! We'll need them." His voice was slightly higher than the actual Bowser, and Tubba noticed a tiny, extra tooth poking out from under his jaw. Suddenly, he realized who he was looking at. He was looking at a fully grown up Bowser Jr.. While the Koopalings were born three years apart, with a new Koopaling hatching every six months, Bowser Jr. was three years younger than Larry, and as consequence, was twenty and recently passed into adulthood. It was not impossible to imagine that a young, twenty year old Bowser would've looked identical to how Junior was marshalling the troops with ease. Behind Tubba, the hangar door opened. Glancing back, he saw six of the seven Koopalings, Gonzales, GB, Dibby and Blizzerd. Ludwig and the other Koopalings immediately passed him, with Roy and Morton joining the Koopatrols in lifting the crates, Wendy, Larry and Iggy heading into the airship via the ramp, and Ludwig walking briskly to Bowser Jr. atop the platform. "They seem in a rush, don't they?" Gonzales remarked as he drew close to Tubba. Together, the two of them watched Ludwig scaling the spiral staircase next to the platform. Tubba murmured his assent. "You should've seen them when we were talking about it. I've never seen them look so subdued." "Junior! Are vee ready to take off?" Ludwig asked Bowser Jr., seemingly unaware of how loud he sounded. "Almost." Bowser Jr. responded, surveying the hangar. "We just need to get the last passengers in. Roy and Morton have really sped up the loading process." Junior looked down at the loading deck, where Roy and Morton were both holding over ten crates over their backs. Junior was taller than Ludwig, with his chin being the top of Ludwig's head. "I guess that's our cue." Blizzerd angled his eyes to the two Koopas aboard the platform. Together, the battlers walked toward and then waited in line to walk up the ramp leading into the Super Bowser Doomship. A brief conversation with GB and Dibby told Tubba that Xavier was still out of it, otherwise he would've come around. It was quite comforting that all the battlers had wanted to come voluntarily; Tubba felt he would be sick as he stepped into the airship. While he had wanted to go, flying out into space to destroy an all-powerful wasn't what he had in mind when he set out to reclaim his Kingdom. Before they could go much farther than admiring the craftmanship of the airship, and how the exterior steel gave way to finely crafted wood and gave the feel of being in a cozy house, they were met by Iggy. "Ludwig wants you," he pointed at Tubba, "on the bridge for takeoff." Tubba stood his ground. "I'm not going anywhere unless the others can come with me." Iggy looked exasperated for a brief second, his eyes raking the battlers, as if searching for a weakness. Eventually, the middle Koopaling gave a shrug and beckoned the battlers to follow him. Up the many stairs of the Doomship they went, marvelling at the sheer will the creation needed. Tubba thought Iggy looked distinctly less exasperated as they did so, and seemed to stand a bit taller. Ludwig had clearly beaten them to the bridge, because when the metal sliding doors that separated the bridge from the rest of the airship opened, the eldest Koopaling was staring out a window, his eyes thoughtful. The bridge was easily the largest room in the airship. While the front of the room was completely glass, probably enchanted and reinforced, Tubba guessed, the exterior walls resembled the craftmanship of the lower levels- the finely carved wood, polished and touched up, attention to every detail on the baseboards. Spread around the room were various chairs with stations positioned to them. Roy, on the far right, looked like he was sitting at a computer, as did Morton, also on the far right, Larry(far left) and Wendy(far left as well). Bowser Jr. was sitting in a chair in the very centre of the bridge, his right hand on what looked like multiple engine levers, a panel glowing red to his left. Many empty seats were scattered around the bridge, but there was still ample room to maneuver. The glass at the front of the room resembled the depths of space, with stars, gas clusters and asteroids scattered around. "Ah, yes, velcome." Tubba saw, to his disdain, that Clubbette was also on the bridge, buckled into a seat on the far left behind Larry. "Vee are just about ready to take off and go to zee stars. Buckle yourselves in- it can be really bad to take off." Ludwig warned, the battlers all took seats on the bridge, Tubba finding himself in between Larry and Gonzales. There was about an arms distance between their two armrests. Beyond Gonzales sat Blizzerd, then GB and Dibby, with Morton nearly against the wall in his station. "Zis glass is enchanted to show us zee direct patch of space in front of us." Ludwig explained, taking his seat slightly to the front and to the right of Bowser Jr. "Vee vill have to take to space to lock on zee Comet Observatory's unique energy signal." Suddenly, the panel on Bowser Jr.'s left flashed green. "Everyone's ready for takeoff on the other decks, everything's closed. We're ready. Takeoff?" He shot the last question at Ludwig, who gave him a smile. "Vell, who is zee captain here? You know zee drill." Bowser Jr. shoved the levers that his right upward, and Tubba heard the unmistakable sound of something starting up. Building to a higher and higher pitch, Tubba, feeling sick once again, closed his eyes as he prepared to shoot off into space at the crescendo of the engines.